What's the toughest team to rank this season?

[TypicalTribe]

Every week there are certain teams I struggle with in terms of placement in the rankings, due to a mix of lack of record, schedule strength, lack of quality wins, etc. I've offered up a few, let me know if anyone else feels the same or has others that give them problems.

[THE DANIMAL]

I can't speak for any of the other teams in this poll since I have not had the pleasure to see them play or any of there opponents play for that matter (other then Cal Poly), I have to say that my beloved griz are the hardest to rank. We have consistently turned over the ball and given away games. Although Cal Poly, Weber St and EWU are all strong teams this year and we played them all on the road I strongly believe that the Griz have more talent then all 3 of them yet this team just has not put a complete game together to date this year. When you watch them you can see the all the talent they possess but we seem to falter continuously. We easily could be undefeated right now. It's hard to swallow as a die hard griz fan but the stats speak for themselves...turnovers are part of the game...if we can't fix that problem we are going to continue to just be a mediocre team! Are run defense isn't a bright spot neither which has been our downfall in the playoffs for us in past years. I hope that this bye week cinched up some of our issues! With that said if we do some how make the playoffs somehow...I think we could be a very scary team. Also no disrespect to Cal Poly, Weber, or EWU...your teams were the better team the day we played.

[WMTribe90]

I'd say BC, because looking at the polls they are the most over-rated team. Watched some of the Hampton v BC game and BC did not look like a top 10 team. IMO, they should be in the 15 -20 range and there's nothig on their resume that suggests otherwise.

My second option, not on your list, would be Jacksonville. The ODU and ASU games were the only real barometers. A win at ODU is fairly impressive, but then they didn't impress in the loss at ASU. I can see ranking them in the top 25, but there isn't alot to base that opinion on.

[Squealofthepig]

I would have added South Carolina State to the list, too, as I've found them hard to rank. I voted B-C, because - outside of the head to head with SC State - there hasn't been a lot to really judge them on, and their one ESPN appearance was far from conclusive.

The Griz are also insanely tough to judge this year. They've had one incredibly solid, national championship caliber game all year - and unfortunately it's been scattered throughout all of their games. On one hand, they have found ways to win some very close games; and on the other, they do everything they can to lose other games (much like Stephen F. Austin did for us last year in the playoffs - I think a lot of this season is karma balancing the Griz out after that game, which saw ten turnovers handed to the Griz).

New Hampshire is mainly inconsistent, which leads voters to have difficulty placing them on their ballots accurately. Body-of-work voters and subjective voters alike are just likely to roll some random dice and place the Wildcats thusly.

[JMUNJ08]

UNH has wins over UR/UMass/JMU but losses to URI/Maine/W&M(the outlier)

They are now 5-4 but have some good wins and TERRIBLE losses. 'Cats rise to the occassion in big games but lose to teams below them. There isn't a more hot/cold team out there to try and rank...

[WileECoyote06]

I didn't pick Bethune-Cookman, because they have something no other FCS team possesses right now: an undefeated record. Although their path to that record is under scrutiny, they've done what no other team in FCS has been able to do; and thus deserve accolade for that accomplishment.

The hardest team for me to rank week in and week out has been Liberty.

[rcny46]

UNH has wins over UR/UMass/JMU but losses to URI/Maine/W&M(the outlier)

They are now 5-4 but have some good wins and TERRIBLE losses. 'Cats rise to the occassion in big games but lose to teams below them. There isn't a more hot/cold team out there to try and rank...


I wouldn't exactly say that UNH rose to the occassion when they played W&M.That gem last saturday could very likely keep them out of the post season,even at 7-4.

[SalukiJim]

What about SEMO?

[Mattymc727]

I wouldn't exactly say that UNH rose to the occassion when they played W&M.That gem last saturday could very likely keep them out of the post season,even at 7-4.

I think if we can somehow beat Nova and Towson....thats a good enough 7-4 record to get us into the playoffs

[rcny46]

I think if we can somehow beat Nova and Towson....thats a good enough 7-4 record to get us into the playoffs



I hope they can pull those last two out of a hat,you're right,and the selection commitee agrees with you.They will have their work cut out for them,and
a lot of teams looking for spots.What happens over the next two weekends will tell the tale.

[caribbeanhen]

I'll toss Sacramento St in as a write in

[appmaj]

Cookman

[MR. CHICKEN]

WHAA....'BOUT LEHIGH..xconfusedx.....7-2.....WHIFF OWN-LAH.....GEORGETOWN/LAFAYETTE...LEFT.....WILL BE DUH AQ...FROM DUH PATRIOT.....SHOODN'T UH AQ BE.....INCLUDED IN TOP 25...xconfusedx.......BRAWK!

[ngineer]

Actually, I would add Lehigh to that list. Currently at 7-2, with the only losses to UNH and Villanova, they have, over the past month, shown vast improvement. The test of a good team is that it improves during the season. Lum has shown a great improvement of going through his progressions, spreading the ball around. The ground game is improving and the defense is point stingy. The difficulty is that the five game winning streak has come against some teams that Lehigh should have beaten (Fordham and Bucknell), but also sparked the turnaround with a stellar second half performance AT Harvard, not an easy place to play. The point spread of wins over Colgate and Holy Cross surprised many. The Mountain Hawks have an experienced group on both sides of the ball with 16 starters from last year doing the job. I agree that the Patriot League's strength this year is not what it has been, and therefore, the dilemma of trying to figure out just how good Lehigh is right now. My sense is that with the confidence obtained over the past month they can hang with most of the teams in the top 20. They are much better than they were at the end of September. With proper focus, I will not be surprised to see them playing in December.

[ngineer]

WHAA....'BOUT LEHIGH..xconfusedx.....7-2.....WHIFF OWN-LAH.....GEORGETOWN/LAFAYETTE...LEFT.....WILL BE DUH AQ...FROM DUH PATRIOT.....SHOODN'T UH AQ BE.....INCLUDED IN TOP 25...xconfusedx.......BRAWK!

Thanky much Mr. Chicken. I typed my post before seeing yours so I guess great minds think alike.

[Squealofthepig]

Thanky much Mr. Chicken. I typed my post before seeing yours so I guess great minds think alike.

...or fools seldom differ. ;)

Just kidding. Lehigh hasn't been easy to rank either. I had them off my radar after Villanova blanked them early, but they've continually put in pretty good performances since. OK, the loss at UNH hurt, but all their other games, with the exception of Fordham, has been by double digits. Decent wins vs. Princeton and at Harvard show the team can definitely play, but with only solid CAA teams to think about relative strength, one can at best guess. I had them at 25 in my last ballot, but I'll admit they could be as good as mid-teens or deservedly unranked.

[BlueHenSinfonian]

I think Jacksonville is tougher to rank than any of the teams in the poll. The win over ODU, and the holding it sort of steady against ASU makes me think they could give BC, Cal Poly, or Liberty a run for their money, but being undefeated in the PFL is just as easy as being undefeated in the MEAC - conference strength is so weak that it's hard to tell if the team is just a bit better than a bunch of bottom dwellers, or is awesome and hasn't had the right teams to show it against.

[Gil Dobie]

Wofford & Montana St

[Squealofthepig]

Wofford & Montana St

Why? I generally agree with your posts, but I find both of these teams a bit easier to rank.

For Wofford, wins over GSU and at Elon have helped me rank them fairly high. For Montana State, a win over EWU and a very close lost at Washington State have me feeling decent about ranking them in the top 25, though exactly where is a bit tough. Both are teams that have some bona fides to being ranked, while many other teams - SEMO, BC, Lehigh, Jacksonville, etc - are probably worthy of being ranked, but I feel less confident about them.

[Gil Dobie]

Why? I generally agree with your posts, but I find both of these teams a bit easier to rank.

For Wofford, wins over GSU and at Elon have helped me rank them fairly high. For Montana State, a win over EWU and a very close lost at Washington State have me feeling decent about ranking them in the top 25, though exactly where is a bit tough. Both are teams that have some bona fides to being ranked, while many other teams - SEMO, BC, Lehigh, Jacksonville, etc - are probably worthy of being ranked, but I feel less confident about them.

I have Montana St ranked higher than Wofford due to Montana St beating Eastern Washington, and Wofford not beating anyone that is ranked very high. Most other people have the opposite. I realize Wofford is unbeaten in FCS games, but this weekend will give me a better idea.